I have an ei system 103a desktop i have had to sytem restore now when i turn pc on it tells me to press f1 to start windows i have tried going into the bios and boot from hardisk but still have the problem please can anyone help

The 'Press F1 to continue" message is a result of an error caused as the BIOS does its hardware checks during the boot process.

The BIOS boot process (bootstrap) preceeds the loading of the operating system.

The most amusing example of this occurs if you unplug a ps2 keyboard, 1, it generates the error2, pressing F1 does no good because the keyboard is not plugged in.3, if its ps2, you will need to do a hardware reset after plugging the keyboard in again.

The bios can be set to 'halt on''no errors' which will stop the error message appearing.'keyboard errors' see above'all errors' any hardware failure detected by the bios will halt the boot process and give the above message.

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Dell XP= Press Ctrl+F11 SimultaneouslyDell Vista=F8Compaq=F11HP Desktop Vista=F11Emachine=F10Acer=Alt+F10Remember every manufacture has different function key combination to to a factory default recovery.1.Turn on the computer.2.When the Dell splash screen appears during the computer startup process, press and hold <Ctrl> and then press <F11>. Then, release both keys at the same time. 3.In the Dell PC Restore by Symantec window, click Restore. Alternatively, press <Tab> to highlight Restore, and then press <Enter>.4.When a warning message appears stating that all data will be lost, click Confirm, or press <Tab> to highlight Confirm and then press <Enter>.The Progress window will appear. Once the restore process starts, Dell PC Restore by Symantec usually takes about 8 to 10 minutes to finish.When the restore process is complete, the following message will appear: The system recovery process was successful.5.Click Finish or press <Tab> to highlight Finish and then press <Enter> to restart the computer.N.B F1/F8/F11(Function key Which is located in the top of your keyboard F1 to F12)

unfortunately most companys supply the recovery cds at a cost.
your other option, is to install an operating system ( Windows/Linux ) to get the system up and running, then check the device manager to see what device drivers need to be updated.

2) Press the "on" button on your laptop, and *immediately* start tapping on the F8 key on your keyboard. This should bring up a black screen with white text on it.

NOTE: You may get a message saying "keyboard error, press F1 to continue." If this happens, press F1 and then keep tapping on the F8 key.

NOTE: If the Windows screen comes up, turn off the computer and try again until you get to a black screen with different startup choices on it.

3) Once you have reached the startup choices screen, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight "safe mode." Press the Enter key. If you are asked to choose your operating system, just press Enter again.

This will start a lot of text scrolling on your screen. Just be patient. When it stops, you will see a login screen. Log in under your name (sometimes this is "owner").

4) You will now be logged in to you computer in Safe Mode. A message will pop up asking if you want to use Safe Mode or System Restore. Click on System Restore.

5) You should now have the option to undo your last System Restore. Choose this option and follow the instructions on your screen to get back to where you were before you tried to restore your laptop.

If you need further help after that, please reply with the name and model number of your laptop. For example, "Dell Inspiron 530," or "Compaq Presario 3000." Also let me know what version of Windows you are using, for example "XP" or "Vista."

Do you have the OEM Windows CD with Key Code numbers? If yes and there is nothing on the hard drive you want to save you could try a clean install. Go to set-up and make CD-ROM drive the first boot device and install a new OS. Sometimes with Windows this is the easiest thing to do. I see this recovery/restore stuff leaves a lot to be desired. In other words, it doesn't seem to work half the time.

First, make sure there are no discs in any of the drives as this could disrupt the boot process. Prior to seeing the HP screen you should get a prompt as to press F10 to go into system setup. Once in system setup choose the option to go to system restore or system recovery. From there you should be able to restore your computer to a sytem restore point that was set up with a checkpoint at set intervals by Windows XP. If that is unsuccessful you may have to utilize your recovery discs.
Good Luck.

DOES YOUR HARDISK DRIVE DETECTED?IF NOT, TRY TO DISCONNECT IT FROM THE SYSTEM ,TURN OFF YOUR PC,POWER ON, PRESS F10 AND OPTIMIZE DEFAULT SETTING, SAVE IT.TYURN YOUR PC OFF CONNECT THE HARDISK,IF IT DETECTED, AND NO WINDOWS APPEAR,REFORMAT YOUR SYSTEM.

You may have lost part of your windows program. If you have a system restore disk, you can run a system restore and probably fix your problem.
Some of your windows files have gotten deleted. When windows gets to this point all windows knows to do is restart. A virus can cause this problem.
Stargazer